Posted by Avive August 20, 2020 Last Updated: December 2, 2020 on Dec 19th 2020
AED Rescuer Saves Life of 16-year-old at the Gym
AED Rescuer Saves Life of 16-year-old at the Gym
Bill and Shawn share their inspiring stories of survival and gratitude.
16 year-old Lexi was a healthy, avid athlete when her heart suddenly stopped while she was running on the treadmill. Bill Sick was exercising nearby when he saw Lexi collapse and fly backwards. Alongside three other gym members, Bill performed CPR and used an AED to deliver two defibrillation shocks to Lexi’s heart, saving her life. Bill shares the story of this rescue while Shawn, Lexi’s father, describes seeing his daughter lifeless and the gratitude he feels for these responders. Since then, Shawn has been a tireless advocate to save lives from Sudden Cardiac Arrest with CPR/AED training, legislation, and more.
Transcript:
Bill is an amazing example of a normal person that, by taking action, was able to save someone’s life. And while Bill and the other lay responders in the gym worked to save Lexi, other people stood back. And when it comes to sudden cardiac arrest, the worst thing that you can do is nothing. Anyone can take action and respond to a sudden cardiac arrest by doing three things: calling 911, pushing hard and fast on the center of the chest, and using an AED to restart the heart. As Bill describes, the most important thing that you can do is to take action.
Bill Sick: My instinct is always to help people. It always has been an internal thing that drives me to help and assist. If somebody doesn’t help, that person doesn’t have a chance. And I noticed at the gym that evening that almost everybody stood back. They stood way back. They didn’t even want to go on over. Getting involved in a critical situation, such as this, is important. Even though you don’t maybe have the skill sets or whatever, you can still assist.
Anna Harleen: While this was happening at the gym, Shawn was with the rest of his family down the street at a benefit for his son’s lacrosse team. The coach a local judge was speaking at the event when Shawn began getting repeated calls from a friend.
And there was an ambulance. I walked into the room and there was a crowd of people. And I remember distinctly, I saw my daughter, she looked gray, ashy, her eyes were still rolled up. And all I recall is Bill telling me she’s back. She’s breathing. She has a pulse. And honestly it didn’t register with me. You know, it wasn’t what I expected. I expected a broken leg or a shoulder or something bad, but not, not what was actually happening. So Bill, and another lady with Bill, were basically like, she’s okay, just hang in there. You know, breathe. I’ve been to war, I grew up rough. I’ve seen a lot of things. I consider myself physically strong and emotionally strong, but nothing prepares you for that. I remember just laying on the ground. And I remember Bill, you were one of the only people that I remember from that night. And there were a lot of people in that gym that night because there was a membership drive. But the only initial information that I got about what happened to my daughter came from Bill.
And these people stepped forward and they used a skill. And I thoroughly believe they didn’t know CPR, they would have figured out some way. As Bill said, thank God that AED was working. Not too long before that, I don’t know if he knows this, but that AED was dead. And the owner of that gym, Tony Hopkins, who was losing the gym, noticed that that AED was dead and that the pads were expired. So he replaced them. And that’s not cheap. That’s not like going to buy Duracell batteries at the grocery store. I mean, he invested, and those five people are part of my family. You can ask Bill, at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, birthdays, I thank them because they gave back everything to us. Without them and God putting them in that position, none of this happened, honestly.
Maybe it does. Maybe we pull through this and we’re strong enough. Like a lot of families do and we get involved in the sudden cardiac arrest movement. I made deals with God in the emergency room over in Orlando that night. And I begged him, please give us a chance to have our daughter. And somehow, some way we would pay it forward. Again, none of this happens without Bill Sick. I’ve got to see my daughter graduate high school. I got to see my daughter go off to college. I hope one day I get to walk her down the aisle and hold my grandkids. And every other thing that’s going to happen in our lives, including the next Christmas and others holidays, it’s because of these guys. And of course, God who had his plan. But without these people that stepped forward and did what they did, I don’t know if there’s this movement and so many lives saved and the hunger to help others. And I love Bill and Jack and John and Amanda, like they’re our family. I mean, they did something that nobody else in this world could ever do other than God. And that’s to give back the most precious thing we own. You learn what’s important in life when you’re looking at what you love most, your flesh and blood, dead on the ground. And these people gave it back to us.
And Bill, I got to say brother, I just don’t know if any of it happens without you. Maybe it does. Maybe I put on my big boy pants and I continue on, but I don’t know how I would have done it. You know, every time that you see me post something, you must take credit for it because none of this happens without you. You and that group of people who stepped forward and said, we are not going to watch a young kid die on the ground. And I can’t say it publicly enough, how much I love you and how much I thank you for that.
Anna Harleen: Sudden cardiac arrest often strikes without warning and it can affect seemingly healthy young people like Lexi. Among the many things that we can learn from Shawn and Bill, remember to make sure that there is always a charged well-maintained AED wherever you go to exercise, work, learn, or play. Anyone can save a life from sudden cardiac arrest. You just need a few very simple skills and tools to respond.